Ever been caught losing your hat? I was driving out to the corrals when a cowboy neighbor hiked out of the woods. He was dusting off his hat and brushing his jeans. I stopped to visit and noticed his torn flannel shirt and a scratch across his face. “Howdy,” I said. “Can I help?” “Did […]
Sally and Don are ready to join the Way-Paver Society. Sally is a young housewife and mother, she quit teaching school when her first child was born. She wanted to get together with other young mothers to share problems, needs, and ideas. So, she started a weekly young mothers’ group where both friendship and faith […]
How would you describe prospectors? Ever known any? How about grizzly and gray bearded? Dirty clothes and wide brimmed hat turned up in front? Pick in one hand and gold pan in the other? And of course, a faithful mule to ride. Driving along the Salmon River between Slate Creek and Lucile, I noticed a […]
The richest, most glamorous gold mines in the Old West possessed quartz with gold. Quartz with gold was not rounded or water worn. It was very bright, irregular, high quality, and often twisted in form. Quartz with gold was found in massive underground gold mines rather than surface placer mines. Quartz is a natural […]
Sometimes we get the idea that every old time cowboy was so tough he didn’t run from anything. According to some pulp writers, he faced down enemy attacks from every direction. He could turn a thousand head of stampeding cattle. Face down a dozen gunfighters in the street. Ride through the desert with a hundred […]
Looking Over His Shoulder by Stephen Bly Every era and generation has its unwritten rules of proper behavior. The Old West was no different. One of those had to do with the proper way for a cowboy to turn around, looking over his shoulder. He didn’t want to do it too often or it would signal […]
Are you a long-ear? You might be if you keep your ear to the ground. In an old western movie a seasoned Indian scout crawls out of the saddle, drops to his knees, and lays his ear to the ground. Then he’ll say, “Three riders. Going south. About four miles away. One of the horses […]
A Bit of Old-Fashioned Preachin’ Old West movies conjure up a lot of images. Fast draw gunfights in the streets. Outlaws with bandannas over their faces robbing banks. Lawmen jumping off horses onto backs of fleeing bad men. Goodhearted women of easy virtue. And the town drunk full of demon liquor. Not all the images […]
One of the loneliest Old West jobs had to be the line rider. In the Old West days before Joseph Glidden’s patented barbed wire invention crossed the prairies, ranchers found it difficult to keep their cattle on the home range. To keep them from wandering to a neighbor’s pasture or getting lost in the wilderness, […]
Old West Saying: Wink As Good As A Nod … Tracks Along The Trail with Stephen Bly An Old West saying went, “A wink is as good as a nod to a blind mule.” In other words, if the mule is blind, no amount of motion whatever is going to motivate him. You could stomp, […]
In the frame short story in this anthology, Ben and Marnie Pearson never intended to start a jewelry collection. But when they were given a box of leftover jewelry at an estate sale, they were intrigued by the colorful contents . . .
The sparkling jewels featured in this collection may have been passed down through generations or discovered accidentally, but each has its own unique short story. From diamonds to emeralds, opals to rubies, these stones have witnessed it all.
Here in The Jeweler's Heart are their fascinating tales told by seventeen of the talented novel writers of ChiLibris. For fans of inspirational fiction and heartwarming tales, The Jeweler's Heart is a treasure.
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